


Danganronpa Tabletop Drabbles

by wideeyedaxolotl



Series: Tabletop Drabble Series [2]
Category: Danganronpa, Danganronpa Tabletop
Genre: Universe: Danganronpa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-14 18:38:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13595991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wideeyedaxolotl/pseuds/wideeyedaxolotl
Summary: A couple drabbles written in relation to the tabletop I ran, known as Danganronpa Tabletop. There were a 8 players? Don't be me when GMing, that's WAY TOO MUCH. Most, if not all, are what-ifs.The characters were: Ito (Tailor/Conspiracist), Hayato (Racer), Hideo (Hikikomori/Roboticist), Kioku (Test Taker), Annie (Dart Thrower), Valentino ('Hero'/Rebel), Engou (Director), Van (Ice Cream Truck Driver), Kana (Ventriloquist), Jane (Tour Guide), Warden (Lion Tamer), Atsuko (Fire Dancer), Hotaru (Inflammist), Fuyuko (Surveyor), Ishi (Chemist), and Mikoto (???/Mirror).





	1. Cafe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Write: Cake  
> Characters: Ito, Kana
> 
> Ito decides to go to the cafe with Kana. He immediately regrets even considering having any form of social outing. Not sure where this write falls in the timeline, if it were to...but probably pregame?

When a person requests one to come to a cafe, the invitee expects to set up a 'table for two.'   
  
At a glance, the circumstances of this 'date' was no different -- the boy, who took the role of the 'invitee', had appeared at the cafe of the invited's choosing a few minutes early, examining every detail to ensure that the place was absolutely, positively, perfect. As for the invited, she had come to the place a few moments after, inquiring the waiter for the table that had been reserved for her, and her alone.  
  
Naturally, the waiter had not counted the 'friends' that she had bought along with her. And so, the once 'two person date' had turned into....well, more like a small group whom had stumbled upon the place out of pure boredom.  
  
The first question to arise was, "Why did you have to bring these...?" This had came from the boy, Ito. It was rhetorical, and had not expected a response, but...  
  
"If you're going to bring my here lady on a date," A voice chimed, "I'm going to need to chaperone."  
  
This was the voice of Amon, the first of the two 'friends' that the girl, Kana, had. The next lines of words, however, were muffled out by the presence of the other, Ambriel, who had then piped up with a small, "t-that's enough, don't you think..? Let's just watch and see what happens..."  
  
Ito, for once, had to agree with Kana's little friend; it would be best for them to just watch. Not talking. At all. The commotion that they were making already must of puzzled the people at the nearby table..  
  
And, the reason? Well, the friends that Ito had grown to loathe were two, decidedly creepy, dolls, in which Kana had grown accustomed to speaking through. How the waiter had missed them when letting the girl in was beyond his comprehension.   
  
"...no, no, Kana s-should get the cheesecake..!"   
  
"Are you mad? The devil's food cake suits her taste..~"  
  
...were the dolls really fighting over what FOOD this girl was going to have? He'd seen it all. "...Kana, you really can't be resorting to bickering with yourself just to figure what you're having."  
  
"My girl Kana needs only the finest!" Came the voice of Amon, as the doll (along with the hand in which was holding him), was found inches away from Ito's face. "Treat my girl right~!"   
  
Lectured by a doll. Great, just great. "Look, just pick something YOU like...." Ito pushed the doll aside, unamused, "not gramps over here."  
  
A muffled "I'm not gramps!" came from the doll, just as the waiter had come to take their order. To save himself from further embarrassment, Ito had chosen the dish for Kana, and, to make things simple, ordered each a glass of water as well....  
  
"Ito, you're h-hurting him..!"   
  
"...Kana, you can't really think this doll is suffering." Really, all he was doing was covering the doll's face with his hand. There was no cause for alarm!  
  
"Uhm, it's Ambriel..." Oh, sorry. Of course it was the other doll speaking. Of course. But the point remained the same. What was with her and the treatment of these dolls?  
  
"So, tell me." Ito allowed Amon to escape his grasp, resting his arms on the table. "Do you have any plans about how you're going to eat?"  
  
"A gentleman handles the troubles of silverware!" Amon, whom had recovered from his near death by suffocation, swiftly took hold of a fork, danging it from his mouth. Classy.  
  
"...don't go crying to me when your dolls are caked up." She really couldn't of been serious. Right? However, Ito's fear had shone through when the waiter had returned with their food; while the boy had carefully cut a piece with his fork and plopped it in his mouth, Kana had used Amon to feed her a bit of her cake...  
  
"K-Kana, please..!" Ito huffed, placing the fork delicately aside his plate. "This foolishness needs to end." This was not what he wanted. He just wanted a nice, simple outing with the girl, alone......  
  
Getting up from the table, Ito had lunged out to grab a hold of the dolls, and end this, once and for all. If he wasn't so short, the boy would of succeeded, too. But alas! The girl had stood up, and held them up so high, waving them about as the boy hopelessly reached upward with his tiny arms. "This isn't the game, Kana, stop this at once...!"  
  
"Don't you think you're a little close to my darling?" Amon's voice ringed in the boy's ears. Her was right, he WAS a bit close for comfort. But he had to silence that doll. If he was gong to silence one, it had to be that good-for-nothing Amon-...  
  
Oof. Now he really shattered Amon's 'spacing rule.' Ito, despite his cherry red cheeks, played it out like it was simply nothing, brushing himself off as he got up, and took the troublesome doll out of her hand. Kana, on the other hand, was a bit dazed from the action, and had taken a full minute to stumble back onto her feet, sliding into her chair soon after.   
  
Was the rest of the people in the cafe staring? Yes. But, at the very least, they could eat in silence-  
  
"...unhand me, you crook!"  
  
Ah, of course. While Amon was in Ito's hands, he had not considered the fact that, as long as the doll was still here, there was no way he was going to escape his prattle. Or, maybe he had just overlooked another option.  
  
He leaned forward from his seat, picking up his fork as he did.  
  
"This treatment is unfit! Put me down!"  
  
He quietly tore a piece from the cake, pressing the fork in.  
  
"Holding a poor, innocent man, and now stuffing yourself with cake? This is cruelty! You're a cruel, cruel b-"  
  
And, into the girl's hatch it went.  
  
".......better? Now, take this..." He calmly dropped the doll on the table, and used his now free hand to place her's onto the fork. "....and worry  about eating, ok..?"  
  
Kana only could only nod at that. It was a success for Ito; he had finally shut the girl's dolls up, and the girl was finally eating the cake. but, unknown to Ito, whom had hastily taken Kana's fork upon realizing that he had handed his to her....  
  
...Kana had succeeded in her own way.


	2. Cafe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Write: Accidental  
> Characters: Engou, Jane, Annie
> 
> A what-if for Chapter One of the game. A lil bit of violence here, but not much.

When she had first considered the option of murdering, the solution was clear: kill the director, and have no regrets, as she would become the center of attention once more.  
  
he would have to be out sometime, right? And he was, but….someone else was out there, too. But, before she could stab the boy with her handy knife…  
  
The boy drew his knife, and had stabbed a different girl, instead.  
  
Together, the two of them would drag her to the closest place, the store in which the boy, Engou, had prepared the surprise for Kioku. She would hiss as the contraption that he had worked so hard to make would set off as the door opened, a barrage of confetti fluttering on top of the three.  
  
Not exactly what either would call a good use of this celebrating machine.  
  
Once the noisemaker died down, Engou would tell the girl, Jane, to search in the food court for anyone, while he would round the rest of them up in the dorms. The girl wasn’t opposed to this, as she watched him leave, heading her way out as well when..  
  
she stopped, staring back at the body of the girl who was stabbed. She was going to be ok, right?  
  
Slowly, she neared the body, searching for any sort of sign that they might of been still alive. And from the now steady beat, and how little the wound bled after Engou was so kind to attend to her, Jane could tell that this girl would be ok.  
  
But did she really want that? The goal to murder the director was foiled because of her! Angrily, she drew forth the knife again, pressing it close to the girls throat, intent on finishing the job.  
  
"you know that isn’t going to solve anything."  
  
Ah, that voice..so she was awake still. Jane would pull the knife away, letting it slip from her fingertips and fall to the floor with a clang.  
  
"and how will it not? If i kill you, then Engou will be blamed, and he can die too, I would still be able to take control as the head of the conversation..!"  
  
"to _whom?_ "  
  
Jane stared down at the girl, puzzled at her bizarre statement. "well, if engou is picked, he would die-..."  
  
"along with everyone else in the park." the girl concludes. "are you sure you want that…?"  
  
This is when the cold reality strikes, and she brings her arms close, head shaking. "no way, this cant be true, this cant be…"  
  
"but it is. Are you willing to go forth, knowing this truth?"  
  
She would shake her head, and quickly at that. it was a no brainer – if she was going to murder, she wanted to have an audience after her plan was done. Not murdering to potentially lose the only crowd that remained..  
  
without much of a word, she places the knife back into her bag, and lays down beside the girl, perhaps a bit close to the girls comfort.  
  
“..I…don’t want to be alone.”  
  
For Jane, and the girl, Annie, too, they had found that moment to be eerily soothing, staring back at one another as each took the others hand, waiting patiently for engou’s return.  
  
They didn’t have to be alone.


	3. Anger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Write: Anger  
> Characters: Hayato, Hideo, Ito (both mentioned)
> 
> Hayato gets upset.

"..that...that Idiot!"  
  
Hayato pounded his fist into the ground, gritting his teeth. Why? Why did the stupid, pathetic, no-talent moron have to do this?  
  
There's a laugh, and a tear or two.  
  
"No, I did deserve it," Hayato concluded. "I deserved it more than anyone here. But it was still a stupid action. A stupid action, by that stupid, sttttuppid..." what was he now? A conspiracist?  
  
_Worthless._  
  
Sighing, the boy stood up, staring down at the problem before him. The robot, who he had gotten from Ito, was broken. Moping over who had caused the issue wasn't going to do anything. But how was he going to fix this? Sure, he had tinkered with things here and there, namely cars. This robot, however, was something out of his league. This was, indeed, something only a 'Super High School Level Roboticist' could fix...  
  
Hayato winces.  
  
Hideo.....he had called him worthless, hasn't he? And yet...here he was, wishing that the hikikomori was here to help..  
  
The boy shakes his head. His mind really wasn't fix to be working right now.  
  
Perhaps...sleeping would help.  
  
Just maybe.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Yogurt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Write: Yogurt  
> Characters: Van, Engou
> 
> Van and Engou talk over some doubts they have about their own talents. Written right before the fourth murder.

"No, no...no..."   
  
A piece of paper, littered with words, was crumbled into a ball, and tossed over into the nearby trash can. Another idea scraped.  
  
"The thoughts are really not flowing right now, huh..." A sigh. The little director had been at it all day, writing down various notes, crudely drawing scenes, planning out scripts...  
  
He didn't quite understand why he had suddenly been so motivated to even consider the idea of planning out a movie. Here, in an amusement park that happily promotes the art of killing.....  
  
His thought was halted as he held his arm up, coughing into his sleeve. It had really only been a few minutes, and yet, he was still coughing a bit from it...

And yet, as he glanced over to the trash bin, he felt his hand reach for the lighter. He's about to pull it out from his pocket, but...  
  
"......oh, it's late, isn't it..?" He says, trying to put his mind on other things. It was late, after all...wasn't it? Maybe it was a good time to get something to eat.  
  
Burning the contents of the trash could wait.  
  
Silently, he made his way out of his room, closing the door behind him. Whether everyone was off to the new area, or hanging in their room, the silence that drifted in was chilling, to say the least. The boy continued down the hall, down the stairs, hoping, just hoping he'd find someone to accompany him....  
  
By the time he had made it out of the hotel, he found himself breaking out into a run. Faster and faster, through the courtyard, past the tables, into the food court-  
  
"....Oh, someone here?"  
  
A loud thud followed. The director was face down on the ground, panting heavily.  
  
"...oh, Engou?" The voice continued; the boy could hear the mysterious person's footsteps, growing louder and louder...  
  
Nervously, the boy, Engou, had lifted his head, seeking out the source of the voice. "o-oh, it's you, Van..." He shakily said, slowly getting himself back on his two feet.  
  
"ahaha, what are you crying for?" the voice, Van, had replied, a laugh escaping his throat. "You don't have to cry; if you really wanted a tasty treat, you can just ask..~"  
  
"...o-oh, no, I was looking for something..warmer than that.." Engou admits. It wasn't that he didn't love a frozen treat now and then, but there wasn't a lot that he did like. He really wasn't a big sweets guy.  
  
Van's bright, cherry expression seems to falter for a moment. "...are you sure? There's plenty to choose from! You can't tell me there's nothing there that you want...!"  
  
"...didn't I?" Engou states, a puzzled look on his face. A long silence follows, and the boy sighs; this was a battle he couldn't see himself winning. And, if he got something, he would at least not be alone....  
  
"...fine, I'll have....something." He finally says, sighing. As soon as he said those magic words, Van had taken a hold of his hand. It wasn't too tight, no no! But it was indeed firm. There was no way the director could get himself out of this one.  
  
"There's a wide variety of things to pick from..! There's ice cream, of course, but there's also some smoothies, popsicles of all shapes and sizes..."  
  
Engou followed the ice cream tuck driver around, quietly listening to the man as his platted on and on about the selection of frozen goods. The director had to admit that he wasn't exactly listening, but he didn't mind him talking either; it was good background noise, and he preferred it over the silent halls of the hotel.  
  
...it would be nice, if things could stay like this. A place, where the only worry was deciding on what to eat...  
  
"....so, did I help you pick out what you want?"  
  
Silently, the boy pointed towards what he wanted.  
  
"ah, that." Van headed to one of the freezers, pulling out two items; the one Engou wanted, but also, another one.  
  
The director concluded that it was for himself.  
  
Without a word, Van headed out of the room, placing the frozen treats on the table. He then motioned Engou to sit down as well.  
  
"......did I do something wrong...?" The boy nervously asked, as the ice cream truck driver handed him the item he requested - a frozen yogurt, topped with a few berries.  
  
"you did....nothing wrong." Van said, pouting. "You just picked the one thing that I loathe the most..! But, as it is a product in the frozen goods section...I can't deny you from having it."  
  
"Oh, I didn't know....I'm sorry..." He scoops a bit of the frozen treat into his mouth. "Ice cream never has set well with me, but this frozen yogurt is delicious.."  
  
"So you are the enemy of the ice cream company?!" Van stands up, fists clenched.  
  
"H-Hey now!! Everyone has an opinion...right?" The director waves his arms around frantically. Was he really going to attack? Should he draw his lighter?  
  
The tension was cleared as the man began to laugh. "Boy, I didn't think you'd be that skiddish! You really thought I'd kill you?" The director's lack of response only dulled out Van's laughter. Letting his hands fall to his sides, the man returned to his seat.  
  
"Look, I'm not going to kill you. Frozen yogurt just...never set well with ME, you see? Ever since they started up those self serving stores, the ice cream business has seemed to drop..."  
  
"My business.....the only thing I've been able to do _correctly..._ "  
  
Ah, he hit a sore spot. The poor director didn't know whether to gobble more of the tasty treat down, or push it away...  
  
"....but, you've been able to do it, right?" He finally managed to say, swirling the spoon about the dish. "Your talent, I mean. You've been confident from the very beginning, that you're the best of the best..."  
  
"Well, of course! Isn't that what everyone is here for?"  
  
"...Well, I...I don't think I'm supposed to be here." His voice, a quiet whisper at first, begins to get louder. "I know I'm supposed to be a director...but the movies I 'direct'.....I don't even have any true actors to direct...."  
  
And louder. "All that talk about my movies being popular...they aren't popular at all..!"

Louder. "Everyone mocked them! Everyone pushed them off as a comedy!"  
  
 _Louder!_ "Why am I ever here?! Why did this STUPID SCHOOL pick me? WHY-..."  
  
He had been yelling so much, that he hadn't noticed that he had begun to cry, much more than he had earlier. At least until Van had rubbed a napkin under his eye. " _....no one_ would want to go to this school." Van said, gloomily. "Not if it was like this. But you shouldn't put yourself down, either."  
  
"I got into the place that I am because I had to believe it. I had to believe it more than anything...and ignore what everyone said. You won't be able to go anywhere if you keep denying yourself."  
  
Awkwardly, Engou takes the napkin out of the ice cream driver's grasp, wiping his tears. "....t-thank you, but, I.....I don't know..."  
  
" _DO YOU KNOW,_ or do you not?" Van's voice startled the poor director. "Make some decisions, for once! You're a director, no? Yeesh..."  
  
No response. The ice cream driver tried a different approach. "....look, kid. Think of this way. My job is to make sure you're happy with what you get. I'm not supposed to give you ice cream because I like it better than that _vile_....yogurt. I'm supposed to give you the treat that you want!"  
  
"So tell me. Would you want ice cream, or yogurt?"  
  
"I guess, maybe...yogurt..?"  
  
"....maybe what?"  
  
"m-maybe...maybe yogurt!"  
  
".....it's a start." Grumbling, Van got up, spooning the last of the ice cream into his mouth. He at least had the voice, that's for sure. Engou had gotten up as well, and together, the two of them had tossed the plastic bowls into the trash.  
  
While Engou had not made a comment about, he noticed the three, strange cups in the trash. Just three, strange cups, something he didn't think would play a part of the murder that would occur the next day....  
  
He turned his attention to the ice cream driver, instead. "uh, Van...?"  
  
"When I said thank you I...really meant it."  
  
The man's wide smile had dulled for a moment, an expression of surprise washing over. "Huh?? What, no don't...mention it. I can't have my customers cry, right?" His carefree attitude returns, laughing and smiling wider than ever.  
  
Still, there was one thing left on his mind, as he watched the director head off back to the hotel.  
  
Why did the kid reek so heavily of smoke? Was the boy really...?  
  
"....eh, I'll ask another time," Van concluded, returning to the food court.  
  
After all, his job was to sell ice cream, not to question his customers.


	5. One Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Write: One Year  
> Characters: Hayato, Van, Kioku, Valentino, Engou, Ito (mentioned)
> 
> Post game write, written a year after the remaining students escape from the game. The only write I have that actually involves swears??? Somehow. Somehow. (Character Death mention)

A small yelp was what broke the silence.  
  
It was going along smoothly. Nothing could of possibly had gone wrong, nothing. And yet, a careless blunder had disrupted the peaceful atmosphere.  
  
The not-so-high pitched eep had came from a young man, one who couldn’t be described with the term ‘adult’ by his youthful appearance. Or, perhaps it was his rash, and quite possibly, hasty actions, such as the one he’d done now? Both could work plenty well, depending on the person.  
  
Once he had made such a shocking sound, it was soon followed by the boy murmuring a bit, cursing under his breath.  
  
"…well, shit." was what he had managed to clearly state.  
  
Cautiously, he reached out, rummaging through a few drawers that sat nearby him, only to let out a long sigh.  
  
"…figures." He groaned, standing up. It took a bit of hesitation, but slowly, he opened the door to his room, and headed downstairs. Once he had gotten to the bottom, he nervously poked his head out, withdrawing it quickly back behind the wall.  
  
All looked good.  
  
He would just have to quietly head to the bathroom and…  
  
"Heyyyyy, Hayato~!"  
  
The loud, cheery voice had thrown him off guard. “Ugh!! Why did you decide to fucking sneak up on my like that!?” He had said it without thinking, but he concluded that he didn’t really care for formalities.  
  
Part of that could of been that he knew the girl would barely take offense.”Hayato, I was SUPER SHOCKED to see you down here! It’s like some sort of Christmas miracle!” She stared at him, her eyes lit in awe.  
  
Did she really care that much?  
  
A better question, however, might of been, ‘why was I still here?’  
  
It had been almost a year, after all. In just a day, it would mark the anniversary of when we had finally escaped the torturous pit that called itself an ‘amusement park’. The day where we had ventured back onto the surface, and saw how brutally changed our world became during the time we were underground.  
  
We had decided to live together, as Kioku felt it was good to have ‘safety in numbers.’ Granted, these people were all someone who either considered to murder me, and it would be out of character for me to say that I didn’t want to strangle some of these people at one point, but they were the closest thing to family that everyone had at this point.  
  
Especially considering that we still couldn’t find any of our relatives.  
  
Not a single one.  
  
"I saiddddd, it’s a pleasure to see you down here~!" The peppy voice chimed, interrupting the boy’s train of thought. He glanced over at her, unsure what to really say.  
  
After some thought, he went with something simple. Simple and to the point. “…i’m just here to grab a band-aid.”  
  
The statement was followed by hearing Kioku’s signature pout. Which, quite frankly, wasn’t going to guilt trip him any more than it did the first time. Without saying another word, he made his way to the bathroom, quickly pulling out the drawer that would have the very thing that he wanted.  
  
It was good that he had gotten it now. Sure, the injury on his thumb wasn’t life threatening, but it was beginning to draw a fair bit of blood.  
  
As he carefully placed the band-aid on, he glanced at the remaining quantities. Was there enough to bring upstairs without them fretting? Out of everyone in the household, he was the one that used these band-aids the most. It was easy for him to prove it, seeing how this wasn’t the first band-aid he placed on his hands this week.  
  
Eventually, he decided that he could take a few of them, rather than the whole box. As he got up, ready to leave the bathroom, he turned around to find Kioku standing over him, her expression as giddy as ever.  
  
"K….KIOKU!" He stammered, pushing the girl away. "What is with you and hovering over me like that!?"  
  
The girl, who had fallen to the ground from the push, looked away from him, surprisingly quiet. This silence lingered for a good minute, before she had stood up, patting down her skirt.  
  
"…l-look, Hayato…" She murmured, barely making eye contact. "…I’m worried about you, alright? We don’t really get to see you much, so I was excited that you were…well…not in your room…"  
  
Did he just see a tear fall from her face?  
  
Grunting a little, he made his way over, and put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m ok.” He said, trying his best to play the part. “You don’t need to worry.”  
  
With that said, he made his way back upstairs, leaving the girl alone.  
  
It wasn’t until much later that the girl would see him again; usually, when dinnertime occurred, she would get to see him quickly rush over to grab his meal and go. today, however, was a little bit different.  
  
When Van, one of the people living there, had called everyone down to eat, Hayato had entered the room with an outfit far different from the usual. Ever since everyone had moved in together, Hayato rarely felt it necessary to change out of his pajamas, as he kept himself locked up in his room most of the time. But today, his outfit was something that no one knew he even had, let alone decide to put on.  
  
"Well, well~" Van teased, as he handed the boy a bowl of pasta, decorated with various vegetables and a creamy sauce. "So what’s the occasion, pretty boy?"  
  
Hayato didn’t seem to the take the tease to much offense, oddly enough. “..I’m just going out. Do you think you can get me another bowl of this?”  
  
"Another?" Van asked, cross. "I made just enough for each of us to have! Do you understand the time I took to make this?! And it’s a hot dish, too!" Oh, how he hated to make hot dishes…  
  
”..then give me an empty bowl.” Hayato said, ceasing the quick, but fleeting thoughts of the man. “I’ll split this portion in half.”  
  
Van was taken back by this. He was sure he would of gotten a fist to the face, or, well, the closest to his face that the boy could get. “Alright.” He finally said, taking the bowl back and placing the pasta in two smaller ones.  
  
"Just…don’t go too far, alright? you know how things can me out there."  
  
"I won’t." Hayato said, quietly, leaving the kitchen.  
  
A loud sigh escaped Van’s mouth. There was no need thinking to hard about this. He wasn’t sure if he could, without causing a headache. Returning his attention to the remaining bowls of food, he passing them out to the remaining people, who all sat patiently at a table in the other room.  
  
When he had finished his job, he grabbed his own bowl of food, and found a seat at the table, sighing once again. “Hayato told me he’ll be out for a bit.” He explained to the group. “Though I’m not sure why he wanted another bowl.”  
  
"That is strange!" Kioku chirped, grabbing a bit of the food with her fork. "And he looked so-" a pause, as she plopped the tasty bit of pasta in her mouth. "-fanceee! Supher cooph."  
  
”..mi amico, how about you swallow that before you talk?” another man, who went by the name of Valentino, had suggested. “But I do agree. Hayato was looking rather stylish, for someone who dedicated his days to wearing sleepwear, no? I wonder…” Valentino, too, took a bite of the food, as his mind drifted off into thought.  
  
As he ate, his thoughts melted away, just like the food had in his mouth. “..ooh, Van!” he exclaimed, “This meal is very good! Grazie, grazie.”  
  
"Why thank you," Van responded, a little uneasily. "I’m not exactly the best at cooking, but.."  
  
"No no!" Kioku interrupted, happily. "This is great! A ‘grazie’ to you, Mr. Van!"  
  
"…it is nice." Another voice finally piped up. "…here’s my thanks too, Van."  
  
The voice had belonged to Engou. After the events that had happened, Engou was perhaps the quietest of the group. Even Hayato, who they only was seen on occasion, was louder and more talkative than the boy. It was truly hard to tell if Engou was happy or not, because of the frightened expression he normally wore.  
  
But today, it was clear that those words he spoke expressed his gratitude.  
  
And those weren’t the only words he spoke today, either. No, today, it seemed, was an unusual day for everyone. These second set of words he spoke, quietly, were that he knew why Hayato was like this today.  
  
"But why?" Van had questioned, "Today isn’t the day we escaped that…place. That’s tomorrow."  
  
"….that’s true." Engou responded, softly. "But….do you remember what happened the day before…? What happened…on this day..?"  
  
An air of silence passed the group. Valentino was the one to quickly cease it.  
  
"…ah. I should of known." The man looked towards the window, his face solemn. "We all suffered from this, but him…he really yearns to hear Piccolo’s tune, doesn’t he."  
  
He had nearly chuckled over his own pun. Almost. But Valentino knew it wasn’t the time for laughter.  
  
"It still doesn’t give him the excuse to hide in his room." Van objected. "I don’t care that he’s having some sort of longing for someone who can’t be brought back. We all suffered the same! If you ask me, he really needs to drop it, once and for-"  
  
"…S-STOP IT..!"  
  
Everyone turned to face the source of the sudden yell.  
  
"….it doesn’t matter that we suffered the same, whatever that means..! You guys…you guys are able to deal with me, all the sudden moments of panic that I get, and all the…the crying.." As the person, Engou, had said this, he had begun to cry, as if on cue. "..we should give Hayato the same right. If it helps him feel better….let him be."  
  
Van was speechless for a moment. After all, Engou was the last person he expected to speak up again, let alone defend someone. “…s…sorry.” He managed to say, before turning back towards his meal.  
  
The rest of meal was consumed in silence.  
  
Meanwhile, Hayato had found his own place to eat. It wasn’t all too glamorous; after all, he was pretty sure sitting on a pillow that was placed on the grass wasn’t something one could call ‘high class,’ but it was comfy enough.  
  
As he did sat down, however, he made sure to whisper a small ‘hello.’  
  
And then he set up a small blanket, just big enough to place the two bowls down without placing them in the dirt.  
  
"…I…brought you something." His words were carefully placed, barely audible. "I know, I know! You’re not one to like Van, and I sure as hell don’t blame you, but he’s the only cook we got here! I promise he didn’t poison it."  
  
He takes a bite of his food, and swallows it, as if to signify that the food was completely safe.  
  
"I…I also hope you like what I’m wearing." He chuckles a bit, embarrassingly. "It’s not the best outfit I’ve done, but I’m improving. I’ve been practicing everyday."  
  
He laughs again, but this time, not for the humor. Rather, it was to shoo away the silence that was lingering in.  
  
"I…I’m sorry."  
  
I…I know it was something that I couldn’t stop but….why? Why the heck did you have to visit him?! If you weren’t so fucking bent out of shape about dying then you…..”  
  
"y-you……you could of b-been……."  
  
The rest of his sentence was drowned out, as he began to cry.  
  
For, the person he had chose to dine with was someone who would not eat the food he gave him.  
  
The best he could do is to place it by his grave, and pretend he was there.


End file.
